Retails for around $2.95, found on sale for $1.20 at Kroger.  Marie Callender’s says “White Meat Chicken and Broccoli over Rice Topped with Rich Cheddar Sauce”. And I concur with their findings, as this meal was very satisfying, and tasted great but although not terribly bad for you, the cheese cranked up the fat numbers. If you don’t mind that. Marie Callender nails this dinner and should remain high on your to try list.

Nutritional information is as follows:

    This meal turned out to be the complete opposite of my expectations where normally we get just a few tad bits of chicken, and just a little cheese, I fully expected it to consist mostly of rice. What I found was almost 1 pound of filling food (14 oz) and a very cheesy chicken filled dinner. I warmed mine up a total of 5 minutes, stopping halfway and stirring.

The heavenly cheese sauce soaked the whole meal giving it that desireable broccoli and rice casserole taste and texture. Color of the cheese did not come through the picture very well but it did taste and look like high quality cheddar cheese sauce.

The quality of the brocolli and freshness was superb, it was not too soft and flavor and firmness were evident. The white rice was cooked just the right amount of time, tender and fluffy as it should be. If I had anything negative to say, it was the added mushrooms which were not advertised but large enough to pick out, this is strictly my opinion, I am sure many of you out there love them.

 Overall, this frozen dinner left me full along (eaten with an apple), and tasted restaurant quality. I will most certainly have this lunch again and fully recommend that you do the same.

Retails for around $2.95, found on sale for $1.90 at Kroger.  Marie Callender’s says “Grilled BBQ White Meat Chicken topped with Cheese and Bacon, BBQ sauce, Roasted Red Potatoes and Corn”

A decent amount of food, tasty, and filling, but a little heavy on sodium and carbs (Corn and Potato’s). However, the dinner delivers a low calorie lunch, and can leave you feeling full weighing in at only 500 calories. 

This Marie Callender frozen dinner is a another strongly recommended choice, as it hits home in taste, quality, and fulfillment. The chicken breast was indeed a real piece of white chicken meat, was fork tender and tasted like chicken as it should except it did not capture the grilled flavor that is advertised. One thing I did not notice was any cheese topping, as described, perhaps they wanted to save a few dollars at the plant that day. The large amount of included tomato based barbecue sauce although a little watery, tasted decent. The fact that it was in its own packet and not smothering the meal was nice, and gives us more options and flexibility.  

The ample amount of red skin potatos also complimented the bbq sauce perfectly, were soft and tasted fresh. The quantity of potato and corn that came with this meal surprised me, it seemed like I was eating potatoes and corn for an eternity, which is not always a bad thing. The corn tasted similar to frozen as opposed to canned for obvious reasons. It was also seasoned with something I cannot quite get my finger on but it too tasted excellent.

Overall, this lunch is a keeper and recommended for you to try, if I had to change anything, I would  be making the barbecue sauce and the chicken breast thicker while taking away some of the side items. Thanks for reading.

Nutritional information is as follows:

Stouffer’s says, “Tender beef steak tips in a sweet and tangy Kentucky bourbon sauce served with Cheddar-Ranch mashed potatoes. ” and they were RIGHT!

    Our local Kroger’s ran a sell on Stouffer’s products for $1.70 per dinner, so it seemed the perfect opportunity to try some of the higher quality frozen dinners. In the past, I have had great experience’s with Stouffer’s products, but due to the cost of these meals could never purchase them guilt free on a regular basis.

    The heating instructions are quite clear on how to properly heat this meal, as you have a mound of potatoes while the steak tips are relatively small. Under normal warming directions, one may burn the steak while having the dreaded ice spots in the potatoes. To prevent that, it calls for not breaking the seal, turn microwave down to 50% power and cook for 13 minutes.

Nutritional information is as follows:

Taste and Flavor

Let me get one thing out of the way, this is not health food, note the nutritional information above. However, if you are ready for something to “knock your socks off” in flavor and tired of the healthy tasteless frozen dinners, look no further.

After following the instructions on heating, I removed the plastic film allowing the wonderful sweet grilled steak smell to bellow throughout the cafeteria. My lunch buddies immediately complimented on how nice it smelled, and to be honest my mouth started to water. After wiping the slob off my face, I slowly stirred with anticipation, trying to give it time to cool meanwhile fighting back the saliva glands.

I could wait no further, I dove into the steak and boy was I surprised to find not only was the Kentucky bourbon sauce sweet and flavorful, the steak was mouth watering tender. It escapes me how steak from a frozen dinner could  melt in your mouth and taste like it just left a sizzling grill brought to your table at a fine steak house. Each steak tip was high quality, great care must have been taken in the factory so that no gristle or fat finds its way inside these meals. Could it be, I was overwhelmed with the sweet sauce hiding the traditional cheap frozen steak dinner?……. Possibly, but it was so delectable, I did not care, Stouffers could patent that sauce, replace crack cocaine and make a killing on the streets. All of our drug addicts would probably turn into overweight diabetics, but I bet the pros would still outweigh the cons, at least by about 300 pounds.

Well, lets not forget about the other goods in this dish, the cheddar ranch mashed potatoes also supplemented the steak and sauce nicely. I have never been an advocate of ranch dressing, but together with the potato and cheddar cheese, it is changing my mind. I dashed them with some additional salt and pepper then used whatever potatoes left to mop up the sauce I craved for.

Then, I picked up the plastic container and lapped the remaining sauce the spoon left behind (exaggeration by the way!). All I can now think about is my next “hit”, running straight to the grocery store after work, packing a gun and pilfering whatever bourbon meals are left. Hmm, maybe they are a little heavy on the bourbon, bringing out my addictive genes?

Overall
This is the first review that has ever received 5 stars in my eyes, thank you Stouffer’s for an enjoyable cost effective lunch. If I had to complain about anything, it would be the quantity of steak in the container. Logically though, for a normal human being, the amount was enough to sustain life comfortably.

Here is the link to the Bourbon Steak meal on Stouffer’s website.

Slightly Expensive, but a filling healthy choice for lunch.

 South Beach says, “You could spend half your lunch break in the deli waiting for the same old cold cuts on white bread. Or, you could pop our delicious Turkey Santa Fe in the microwave for a deli-style hot sandwich melt with that perfect Southwestern flavor. ”

     I found a coupon for this dinner in the Dallas Morning newspaper for $1.00 off, so I picked one up to try at our local Wal-Mart. This is my first South Beach frozen dinner to review, and from looking at the nutrition information at 350 calories, an ideal choice for a quick fulfilling lunch.

     Initially after opening the box, everything was packaged seperately in a high quality fashion allowing you to build your sandwich to your liking. It also contained the microwave material in the paper to prevent soggy bread. I was very impressed with the packaging as it is first class.

 Taste and Flavor
The sandwich I put together contained everything in the box which was some turkey, cheese, spicy ranch, and wheat bread. The sandwich appears quite small but after putting together it thickens up enough for a meal. It says to wait and let cool, except that is tough to do when you are hungry so I slightly burned my tongue…ouch!

The turkey was very high quality and covered all the bread supplied containing several thin slices(4 or 5). The turkey was similar in taste as you would find with any store purchased prepackaged lunch meat, nothing ground breaking here.

 The pepper jack cheese joyfully melted atop the turkey under the supplied microwave heating directions. The melted cheese was the highlite of the lunch, as it made the sandwich adding flavor and a little heat. Without the cheese, this lunch would have been boring.   

The supplied spicy ranch packet was not at all that spicy for my taste. It was a red colored sauce which I added right before completing the sandwich build. The wheat bread was slightly gummy, I was hoping for a fresher feel, but I realize this is a frozen dinner. The taste was similar to a whole wheat bread, with no added sugar, honey or fun stuff. Next time I try this meal, some butter and toasting the bun would take this sandwich to the next level.

Overall
South Beach gets 3 stars as overall I am pleased with this sandwich, just not ecstatic. The packaging, style, and directions of the dinner are first class. The turkey is…….turkey, the sauce is no so great, and the cheese is the bomb. If they could figure a way to have less gummy bread with a sweeter taste, it may have almost got 4 stars.

Nutritional information is as follows:

 Taste
Although these frozen dinners are very inexpensive and can usually be found at 1 dollar or less, the taste and quality of this meal is sub-standard. It is unfit to eat…..yes, even for third world countries.

The corn was the only thing that was semi-edible in this meal, needless to say, save your money and purchase a .60 cent can of corn.

The potatoes were very instant,  cheap tasting, and hardly resembles what a potato taste like. To be honest, I have never been a fan of instant potatoes, but I have experienced instant potatoes prepared correctly and still I wonder what this white pile is Banquet calls mashed potatoes.

The most curdling taste here was the “barbecue sauce”, this tomato based sauce had no sweetness whatsoever, and was actually quite bitter.  The consistency was an extremely watered down liquid, with the taste better resembling tomato soup.

The Chicken? How could the chicken possibly be bad, after all it is chicken!

This chicken should not even be classified on the same planet as chicken. Better yet, it should be labeled “Pressed Chicken Parts”. That is exactly what I experienced, it is chicken breast shaped, but it consisted of fatty pieces, cartilage, and bone ironed into a yummy treat. No, that was not a typo I said Bone! There were at least one bone sliver that I could not chew, and several pieces of cartilage and fat that I had to pick out of my mouth.

Overall
Needless to say, my stomach felt queasy after eating this meal, not sure if it was the actual contents, or the reflection of what I actually consumed. Rather than Barbecue Chicken Meal, the correct term for this dinner should be “Banquet - Whole Chickens Grounded into Pieces and Packed into a Patty served in a watery Tomato Mystery Sauce” along with a disclaimer in case you chip a tooth or get sick. All I can say is never again!

Nutrional information is as follows:

     Weight Watcher’s says “Indulge in an Italian favorite pasta dish tossed in with deliciously chunky meat sauce full of seasoned beef, diced tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, accented with oregano and basil.  So delicious, so satisfying … and another way you can be good today.  Smart Ones(r)  taste so good, you want to be good.”

 Taste and Flavor
My last review of a Smart One meal received 4 stars so I was anxious to try another. This selection although shared the same healthy traits, differed in taste substantially. The sauce had a heavier seasoned flavor than I cared for. Two turn offs for me were the large slices of mushroom and hunks of canned tomato which I found some discomfort eating.  If these items were chopped up, I would have handled it better.

Also, there was way to much meat sauce with the amount of noodles given. I was done and ended up with a bucket of sauce still. It did have ground beef mixed in with the sauce, but I even found the taste of the beef a little off. It was almost like a sausage, or Canadian bacon taste. It did not seem to match the dish and sauce.

Overall
Personally I would not try this one again, the noodles were about the only thing that was adequate. The sauce was seasoned with oregano/basil too heavily giving off a “wang”, the ground beef did not taste like ground beef, more like Canadian bacon. Large chunks of tomato and mushroom will find their way onto your spoon which take away from the image and flavor of good spaghetti. Did you say you like cheese? Sorry, you will not find any cheese on this dish. On a positive note, it is healthy lunch or dinner choice at 310 calories.
Nutritional information is as follows:

As I am trying to lose my spare tire, I am interested in some healthier choices and this is my first review that would fall into the “health” category. After my days in public school, we had Salisbury steak every other day so needless to say it is not one of my favorites. Also, I normally prefer home made macaroni and cheese so this dinner had a lot to prove.

Taste and Flavor
The meal turned out to be a big surprise in taste so I gave it 4 stars. The macaroni and cheese actually tasted like it was home made with real cheese. It was cheesy enough to give it that creamy texture, and quality was there. The macaroni had been cooked well and survived the microwave with flying colors.  I did add a dash of pepper and salt, which also added to my enjoyment of this side.

The Steak was fairly large for a meal this size, as the box says, it weighs in at 9.5 ounces. The taste of the steak itself was what I traditionally remembered with Salisbury. However, the gravy around it is what I enjoyed the most. The “Good Brown Gravy” had sauteed onions and mushrooms which brought out a little kick into the steak. I found myself mopping up the gravy, which is something I normally refrain from.

Overall
The portions are obviously small, but look at the nutrition statistics. The mac and cheese, along with the brown gravy made the steak and for 260 calories it was well worth it. I am guilt free, semi full, fat guy, hmm I can have that piece of cake now. I do plan on trying more from the weight watchers genre if the others live up to this standard. The lunch tasted great and coupled with an apple or orange, it will fill you up. I will definitely purchase the Salisbury Steak from Weight Watchers again.

Nutritional information is as follows:

Breaded chicken breast with rib meat topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese with spaghetti. Chicken Parmigiana is one of my favorite dishes to order in restaurants so I was excited to try Stouffers version in their single serving frozen dinner.

Taste and Flavor
The chicken breast was quite thick and I had trouble getting it warm throughout with no cold spots without nuking the rest. The breaded chicken was fairly tender and tasted like it had been baked. I was able to cut with a plastic knife successfully. The crust of the chicken was neutral tasting and since it is a frozen dinner, it was completely soggy as expected.

The marinara sauce and the noodles are what made this meal, I could not tell that either were from a frozen meal. The noodles were soft and I had ample sauce in proportion to the rest of the meal. Other than the slight issue I had with warm-up, the only other complaint I had with this meal was lack of cheese.  I prefer a small amount of cheese, but even with my preferences I found myself wanting a little more.

Overall
I was very impressed with Stouffer’s compilation of Chicken Parmigiana, the flavor of the spaghetti and sauce were top notch. The good sized chicken breast was exactly enough, as I left feeling full. The cheese was a little light, enough maybe to taste the mozzarella for 2 bites or so. It is still a good value for the money especially if you can find on sale as the Stouffers line can be expensive. It is definitely a step up in quality when compared with your cheaper brands out there. I would eat this dish again, nice job Stouffer’s!

Nutritional information is as follows:

Today we are reviewing Roasted Pork, another choice from Boston Market. This meal is also around the $3.49 range at your local grocery store.

This meal consist of a Roasted Pork with Gravy and Garlic Redskin Mashed Potatoes. The marketing hype from Boston Market suggest:

“Hearty chunks of pork in a delicious gravy with a side of garlic redskin mashed potatoes. So good, it doesn’t need any more explanation.” http://www.bostonmarketfrozen.com/products/dinner.aspx

Nutrional information is as follows:

The Review

Appearance and Packaging
The potato’s actually looked quite nice after heating up as you can see the real sliced potato and skins.  Brown Gravy fills the left side with small pieces of pork swimming, or perhaps drowning. Not the most appealing look, perhaps more like a soup rather than “roasted” pork.

In general, the meal is lacking in color, and screams heavy in starch with all the gravy and potato’s.

Taste and Flavor
The brown gravy was extremely generic tasting, possibly too neutral of a taste to even assist the roasted pork or the potatoes. Also, normally I like to add the gravy onto my potato’s, but given the flavor I decided against it.

Despite the gravy, the potatoes were a treat! I actually enjoyed everything about them, style in which they were prepared, the texture, and the taste were all notwhat you would expect to find in a frozen dinner. Although they were advertised “garlic potatoes”, I tasted just a hint of garlic which is what I prefer. Mostly they were mashed and creamed, but parts were left un-mashed along with cooked skins which gave it a home style feel.

In my opinion the pork also made a poor showing, the pieces were small, some so fatty that it required some extra chewing. The flavor of the pork just did not seem to match the gravy, almost like they did not go together. Some pieces were quite rubbery, while others appeared to be tender. As far as taste, it delivered nothing, just pork.

Overall
Larger higher quality cuts of pork would help this dish along with brown gravy with a tad more flavor. The potatoes were surprisingly good, but this alone would not justify purchasing this dish again.

Temperature – Delivery
The restaurant was very clean and the service was awesome on this visit. But I am not reviewing the restaurant, I am more interested in this slice of beef. The dish had obviously been freshly prepared and delivered quickly as it was piping hot. My first bite burned my mouth! – I had to tell myself “Slow Down fat guy, its not going anywhere”.

Appearance
Hope you are not hungry, if so this picture will be tough to look at without hoping in the car and heading down to Razzoo’s. The large portion of fried steak takes up most of the plate smothered in sausage gravy, a healthy portion of red skin mashed potato, some not so healthy green beans and topped off with a beautiful piece of bread. The gravy was a little heavy for my taste, so before eating I did scrape as much as I could off, so you may want to consider ordering your gravy on the side. Notice the Cajun seasoning sprinkled on top, this dish is a colorful platter of goodness.

Fried Steak
A steak knife comes with the meal, but I found that the sharp knife really was not needed. The steak cut easily, this had obviously had been some steak that had been tenderized correctly. The cut of meat was high quality as well, I was able to consume the whole steak with only one bite of the tough chewing gristle. This cut of meat is common for this, so it is refreshing to have a chicken fried steak you can eat without all the chewing.

The crust had the most interesting desirable flavor, possibly a buttermilk crust livened up with some seasoning to deliver the Cajun taste. While the crust was softer, I found that it went along perfect with the dish, the crunch was fulfilled by the bread. The steak was pulled from the fryer at a perfect time, as to not burn the crust or the steak yet it was well done with no pink. The steak along with the flour sausage gravy and maybe a dip into some ketchup and this is now one of my most favorite treats.

Mashed Potato
Everything else on the plate was practically invisible until the steak was consumed. The mashed potato’s were traditionally cooked with skins still with the final product being  fairly tasty and creamy. Even thought they were good, it was not as unbelievably good as was the fried steak, perhaps a tad bland as one might expect a little more kick from a Cajun restaurant. But I do understand that it gives kids and people who do not like spicy food an option as well.

The potatoes were seasoned with plenty of salt-pepper already. As most restaurant dishes are pre-salted, I did not find the need to add additional salt to anything in the meal. I did not or could not finish them all.

Green Beans
Although the side item is not a flagship selling point of the dish, I found them to taste pretty good. However these vegetables would be unrecognizable to something in the fresh healthy category as they were soaked and cooked in a pretty heavy sauce with chunks of bacon. This would be probably  be one of the few times it would be healthier to avoid the greens! Needless to say, I could not finish nor had the desire to finish them anyway.

Bread
This garlic french bread forced me to eat every bit after tasting it, I tried but could not stop. I have no idea how they prepare it, possibly grilled, as both sides were slightly toasted giving it a nice crunch. More importantly, butter was soaked through out and so every bite was buttery goodness. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, top notch garlic flavor and was perfect as a supplement to this dish.

Overall
As you can tell from my long winded post, that I was very impressed with the Cajun Chicken Fried Steak and the bread. Flavor was perfect, with just the right amount of spice to know this is not just your regular everyday steak. The side dishes may need a little touch-up, but the main course makes the meal and Razzoo’s stepped up to the plate. One downside to the dish is price. This is ususally one of the cheaper dishes to prepare yet the price was nearly $10, if you want to add a drink+tip+tax,  you will spend $15 on a lunch easily. Depite this, I will order again, and maybe get a water instead. I give this dish 4.5 stars!